Intellectual Productions
IP #1 Thinking about Game Design
Having read chapters 1-3 and do at least 5 of the exercises Fullerton suggests. They are mostly quick, some go deeper, but you can pick and choose. The idea is to work with the ideas she is presenting ways to think deeply and productively about your own game design. This is REQUIRED.
Exercise 1.3: Your Life as a Game
List five areas of your life that could be games. Then briefly describe a possible underlying game structure for each.
You live in a tiny apartment and can only buy groceries once a week. You have to find the perfect way to store all your groceries in your cupboard and fridge using the skills in tetris
Your budget is $100. Buy as many groceries as you can without going over! Don’t forget about taxes!
Try to make a seating plan without hitting any “mines”. Some possible “mines” may include: students who don’t like each other or had previous issues with, needs to sit near the front, needs to sit away from Jimmy, can’t see/hear properly unless in the front
Which car reaches the next traffic light first during your morning commute
Something wrong with your vehicle? Since you consider yourself something of a mechanic, take the engine apart, clean each piece, and try to put it back together perfectly! Keep an eye out for high pressure chambers and live wires!
Exercise 1.5: Your Childhood
List ten games you played as a child, for example, hide and seek, four square, and tag. Briefly describe what was compelling about each of those games.
We often played tag because there are so many varieties! Freeze tag, toilet tag, and bubble gum tag were some of my favourites! The common part of all these versions was to run as fast as you can! I love running, especially when there is a goal to it (either run away or try to tag someone).
I really liked the challenge of trying to fit in the smallest spaces for hide and seek! I was a short and small child, so I tried to cram myself into the smallest spaces I could! This was allowing me to be creative and I didn’t realize that at the time! My favourite spot was in the laundry hamper, under clothes.
Once we were familiar with Crazy Eights, we were introduced to Crazy Eight Countdown. It has the exact same objective, but each time you get rid of your cards, you down a number. While 8 was a wild card in the beginning round, 7’s were wild on the next round, then 6, etc counting down to 0. There is a lot of strategy involved that I learned from playing with older friends or just different people in general.
This fun two player card game was easy to play with my sister on camping trips and always shocked us when we came across double or even triple wars!
Named correctly, You need fast hands and the ability to think even faster! Playing this card game the majority of my childhood, I came to learn numerous adaptations and was able to play with young, old, beginners, and experienced players.
The classic playground game where one person is “it” while closing their eyes on the ground, and everyone else is on the playground equipment trying to not get tagged. If the person that is “it” thinks someone is touching the ground, they yell “grounders” and anyone touching the ground becomes it. I liked this a lot because it was easy to play during a short recess or longer lunch. Also, there was no limit to how many kids could play, and allowed for different strategies (staying still, yelling and running across the ground, climbing across, etc).
My grandparents taught my sister and I this game on the long ferry rides to the Gulf Islands. It’s essentially tic tac toe on steroids. This game involved strategy and looking at things from multiple perspectives. I liked that I could play this with my sister or grandparents and each game was so different. (see my Exercise 3.2 for more on rules and objectives).
Another classic elementary school game. I loved launching myself on their arms and then just hanging there because I wasn’t big enough to break through. This is one of the few games that I was not good at, but still liked playing! I usually get very frustrated with games that I don’t do well in, but I think because I was a part of a team then I didn’t blame a loss on my performance. Fun fact: my grade played this game so hard, we were banned from playing it because of so many injuries!
I enjoyed kick ball for very similar reasons to tag. There are so many varieties and was a pretty quick paced game. In addition to loving to run, I also love kicking a ball! Kick ball was always a favourite PE activity!
It may surprise you to know my favourite sport is soccer. I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old, and now manage and play on two teams. Of course there are major running and kicking components to soccer, but also scoring! I started out as a defender, but now I love being in the middle of the play and setting up scoring opportunities!
Exercise 2.3: Objectives
List five games, and in one sentence per game, describe the objective in each game.
- Crazy Eight Countdown - Get rid of all your cards as fast as you can
- Hide and Seek - be the last to be found
- SOS - Connect the most S’s and O’s to make as many “SOS’s” as you can
- Soccer - score more goals than the other team
- Red Rover - Break through the opposing teams linked hands
Exercise 3.2: Three-Player Tic-Tac-Toe
Create a version of tic-tac-toe that works for three players. You might need to change the size of the board or other elements of the game to do this.
- This is a cousin to the classic Tic-Tac-Toe game called
- Object - to link the letters A, B, and C more times that your opponents
- Rules
- Each player takes their turn placing a single letter (options a, b, or c) anywhere on the board (a 25x25 grid).
- Once the letters A, B, and C are placed side by side, put a line through it giving you a point.
- Points may be collected by creating ABC or CBA horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
- Letters may be used numerous times, but once a point has been collected for an ABC, the same letters may not be used to collect a point for CBA.
Exercise 3.4: Objectives
List ten of your favorite games and name the objective for each. Do you see any similarities in these games? Try to define the type or types of games that appeal to you.
SOS - The objective is to connect the most S’s and O’s to make as many “SOS’s” as you can.
Hide and seek - The objective is to be the last to be found.
Crazy eight countdown - The objective is to get rid of all your cards first and being first to complete all 8 rounds.
War - The objective is to win all the cards through small “battles” where the higher card wins.
Speed - The objective is to get rid of all your cards first.
Grounders - The objective is to not get tagged by the person who is “it” or be caught touching the ground.
Kick ball - The objective is to score more runs than the other team.
Soccer - The objective is to score more goals than the other team.
Tag - The objective is to run away from the person that is “it” and not be tagged. If you are “it”, tag someone else.
Red Rover - The objective is to break through the opposing teams linked hands.
I've determined that my style of game is either team based games that involve running or independent card games that involve strategy.
IP#2 Foundational Reading
Serious Play
Descriptive:
The authors state that education is losing its playfulness because students are supposed to “get down to business”. de Castell and Jenson suggest that for gaming to be effective, it should be done seriously by students investing their effort, commitment, and determination. Overall, they hope for curriculum developers to revisit the idea of games being used as a powerful tool as opposed to ‘record-keeping’.
Analytical:
de Castell and Jenson focus on the “why” of serious play, but assume that schools have enough technology to encourage frequent and consistent game play. The authors concentrate on promotion and incorporation of games into the curriculum, but lose focus on the vast amount of games that curriculum developers would need to sift through to vouch for strong games, or underestimate what an undertaking it would be to design cross-curricular games or games for each subject.
Question:
What considerations would be taken for adapting games for students with sensory challenges, don’t have english as their native language, or physical limitations?
Video game literacy: A Literacy of expertise
Descriptive:
Squire argues that video games provide a wide range of skills necessary for students to master, such as increased independence, preference to multitasking, and creative problem solving. This chapter encourages the idea that video games can have a profound effect on education but that there needs to be a shift in the organization of how agency is created in learners. The author suggests that gamer communities have untapped possibilities for future research and the social skills associated with them.
Analytical:
Squire describes numerous benefits of playing video games, but does not address any negative implications. The author analyzes games in learning, schooling, and educational contexts, yet does not suggest realistic solutions that educators, administration, or curriculum developers could execute.
Question:
How are educators, especially in the United States, supposed to encourage game play with students when standardized tests are usually at the forefront of their planning?
Bridge:
Squire, de Castell, and Jenson recognize that games provide more than just a medium where people can practice their hand eye coordination and accuracy, but a multimodal space where gamers can be creative, make connections to their learning, and develop a hard working attitude. Both readings offer a very deep appreciation for how video games can improve not only the education, but the lives of today’s youth, and promoting skills that will extend past their schooling.
Readings:
de Castell, S. & Jenson, J. (2003). Serious Play. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 35, 6, 649-666.
Squire, K. Video game literacy: A literacy of expertise. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/1317105/Video-Game_Literacy–A_Literacy_of_Expertise
Intellectal Production #3 Game-Based Pedagogies
Chapter 5Chapter 5 is a more in depth look into the researchers exploring the concept of curatorship in four different classes ranging across grade level and subject area. The examples provided explained the grade level, area of curriculum targeted, and the role of the teacher while connecting to the idea of curatorship. Beavis et al. argue that educators need to balance curriculum curatorship, the needs of the students, and classroom pedagogy. The authors focus on teachers being the curators of digital media and how widely available resources are available, however they assume all resources are created equally, are easy to find quality resources across the web, and do not put educators in financial deficit to acquire. Chapter 5 discusses curatorship in depth through four examples across grade levels and subject areas where teachers curate discussions, space, materials, time, tech, and games, however fail to address how teachers attempted to assess students skills, efforts, end products, knowledge, or productivity. I wonder what modifications or adaptations the researchers and teachers would have to make to ensure any child with vision or processing difficulties could partake in this experiment.
BridgeBoth of these chapters focus on student engagement while finding a balance between serious and play. From an educator point of view, we hope to have all students involved and engaged in the lesson or task at hand, while still balancing having a classroom environment that is productive and encouraging for all learners. Students want to see a balance in the games themselves: challenging yet not “overly educational”, enjoyable yet not boring, and interactive yet able to play at any level. Finding that balance takes dedication from the teachers and an open mindedness from the students.